Three Ph.D. Assistantships in Translational and Integrated Deer Research at Purdue University

The Department of Forestry and Natural Resources seeks energetic and motivated applicants to join an interdisciplinary team of faculty, staff, and state agency personnel conducting translational science to inform management of white-tailed deer and public engagement in Indiana.
We anticipate funding for 3 Ph.D. positions, with individual dissertation foci addressing (A) estimation and modeling of deer populations, (B) ecological condition of plant communities, and (C) stakeholder perceptions of deer populations, habitats and management.
Successful applicants will begin in August 2018 and work closely with each other, agency personnel, and stakeholders to integrate research foci in ways that explicitly inform management by linking deer abundance to habitat integrity and stakeholder perceptions.

Each position is budgeted for 4 years, with a beginning annual stipend of $23,310, a tuition waiver, and health insurance.

Required qualifications include GPA of 3.2, GRE Verbal and Quantitative scores above 50th percentile, and GRE Analytical at least 4.0. Strongly preferred qualifications include: (1) M.S. degree in wildlife, ecology, natural resources, or related social sciences field. In addition, applicants for position (A) will benefit from experience with aerial, remote camera, and pellet-based sampling, strong quantitative skills, and experience with population and statistical modeling, preferably with R and BUGS. Applicants for position (B) will benefit from experience with experimental design, vegetation sampling, and analysis of multispecies data. Applicants for position (C) will benefit from experience with experimental design, survey research, and econometric modeling.

To apply: Prospective applicants should send via email a brief letter of interest and CV (including GPA, GRE scores, and contact information for
references) with “Deer Assistantship” in the subject line. Those interested in position (A) should address their email to Rob Swihart at rswihart@purdue.edu; inquiries for position (B) should be sent to Mike Jenkins at jenkinma@purdue.edu; and inquiries for position (C) should be sent to Zhao Ma at zhaoma@purdue.edu. Review of materials will begin on
1 February.

Women and underrepresented minorities are strongly encouraged to apply.
Purdue University is an equal opportunity affirmative action employer.
For more information, contact the appropriate investigator or visit his/her web site (Dr. Swihart:
https://www.purdue.edu/fnr/sites/swihart/; Dr. Jenkins:
https://ag.purdue.edu/fnr/Pages/Profile.aspx?
strAlias=jenkinma&intDirDeptID=15; Dr. Ma:
http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~zhaoma/Ma/wordpress/).

About Purdue: Purdue is a land-grant university of over 40,000 students and ranked the 5th best public university in the U.S. Located in West Lafayette, Indiana, Purdue is an easy drive from Indianapolis and Chicago. The Department of Forestry and Natural Resources (FNR) is housed administratively in the College of Agriculture (#8 world ranking), emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches across a broad spectrum of natural resource sciences, and offers vibrant, nationally ranked graduate programs in wildlife and ecology. The West Lafayette- Lafayette area is home to a diverse community of 174,000, with good schools, safe neighborhoods, over 40 parks and extensive trail systems, active Farmers Markets, and year-long community festivals and art events.

Field and Lab Technician Jobs in Pollination Ecology

The Winfree Lab at Rutgers University (winfreelab.com) invites applications for two research technician positions to collect and process data on wild bees and the plants they pollinate in Great Lakes region National Parks. The goals of the larger project are to determine the most important plant species supporting spring forest bee communities, and to explore scientific questions about bee biodiversity at large spatial scales.

These are both 6-month positions that start 15 March 2018 and end 15 Sept, with exact start and end dates being somewhat flexible. Both technicians will assist with field work from March to June, and with curation of bee, plant and pollen specimens in the lab from June to September. Pay is $600 per week.

Required Qualifications:
Field research experience; willingness to work long hours outside in difficult conditions (humidity, sun, cold, mud, gnats/mosquitos); willingness to tent camp at remoter sites where housing is not available; ability to carry up to 40 lbs; maturity and ability to work independently; good communication skills; drivers’ license.

Preferred Qualifications:
Experience with field entomology, plant identification, curating insect and plant collections, and/or pollen identification.

To Apply: As a single PDF, send a cover letter explaining why you are interested in this position, your resume, and names and contact information for three references to: Lucia Weinman (luciaraew at gmail.com). Please use “Great Lakes Pollination Tech” as the subject line of the email. Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the positions are filled.

Rutgers University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and the Winfree Lab encourages applications from underrepresented groups.

M.S. Opportunity in Plant Ecology – Texas State University

The research is located in the pine-juniper woodlands of New Mexico and will focus on the ecological consequences of the widespread pine mortality that has occurred in these ecosystems for over a decade. The student’s responsibility will be to investigate tree recruitment in plots where adult tree mortality has been experimentally manipulated. This involves following the survivorship and growth of mapped tree seedlings. The student is also encouraged to lead or participate in a stable-isotope labelling experiment to examine the effects of vegetation manipulation on hydraulic redistribution.

The student will be enrolled in the Population and Conservation Biology master’s program at Texas State University.

The successful candidate must have a background in plant science, be willing and able to do field work under physically challenging conditions and work well in teams. Prior experience in data collection, analysis and scientific writing are desirable. Minority students are especially encouraged to apply. If interested, please contact Dr. Susan Schwinning at schwinn@txstate.edu and provide (1) a cover letter discussing research interests and relevant experience; (2) a resume or CV with three references and (3) unofficial transcripts.